Following Priyada’s shadow in Raiganj

“I miss my husband daily. When he used to campaign,I was an integral part of the process. This time,I have to do everything myself. This region is full of problems,from unemployment to the issues at the tea gardens,” Deepa told The Indian Express,taking a few minutes off her busy schedule.

“I am not here as an MLA or a Lok Sabha election contestant,or even the wife of your beloved Priyada. I am here as your boudi (sister-in-law),” she chants at every stop.

She kicks off her campaign on April 14 — the Bengali New Year — from Goalpokhar,the Assembly segment under Raiganj Lok Sabha seat from where she won the 2006 Assembly polls. Deepa starts her day with a visit to a temple at Karandighi. The word has already spread and people at a fair taking place on the temple premises queue up to catch a glimpse of her. But not everyone welcomes the “VIP” intrusion. Santi Das,for example,who had been patiently waiting to pour some milk and water on the Shivling,was pushed aside to make space for Deepa. “Now I have to wait to queue up once again,” she complains. A visit to a mosque nearby follows,and Deepa seeks blessings from the maulvi before setting off. Her itinerary for the day includes covering at least four villages before lunch.

“This is a backward region and Priyada wanted to make it one of the most prosperous districts in the country. What has the Left Front done for the region in the past 32 years? Because of Priyada there is now a direct rail link to Kolkata and Delhi ,there is electricity thanks to the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyut Yojna,roads have been repaired under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojna. We keep our promises,” she tells spectators.

Her speeches are not merely peppered with progress reports but also with the involvement of Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the region. “The PM has chosen Raiganj to build an AIIMS-style hospital. Priyada believed that the hospital is important not just for Raiganj,but all of Bengal,” she says.

All her stops from here — to Verostan Khanqua,Nangla Madrasa and Kukradaha — follow almost the same pattern,with a few diversions to the subject of women’s emancipation.

“Women today have progressed in the area and I see a lot more women in the crowd today,” she said to a mostly male crowd in Verostan Khanqua,while the women huddle together near the back of the shamiana where she stands. Manju Rai was one of the few women here who managed to shake hands with Dasmunsi. Manju,however,cannot explain her own eagerness since she has no real idea of who Deepa is. Yet,she smiles,“But I liked her. I like you.”

Muslims form the majority — nearly 90 per cent — of the population in these villages. They want better roads,schools,health-care centres. The villagers claimed that a trip to the hospital meant a ride to Islampur nearly 35 km away. Verostan and neighbouring Haribhanga both have a booth each with a combined strength of around 2,400 voters.

Even as she struggles to cover as much ground as possible in a day,a former CITU worker joins her at a rally. Deepa is elated and explains why the CITU member,Azmat Ali,preferred to join the Congress.

Even a number of former CPI(M) gram panchayat members have switched allegiance in her favour in the area,but her local party workers are far from happy. “How can we work with these people who had tortured us all these years? We have been loyal supporters of the party,but we refuse to attend the meeting to be held at the house of a former CITU member,” says Alauddin,a resident of Kukradaha. Earlier,three villages that had enjoyed Forward Bloc support declared their allegiance to Dasmunsi.

Deepa,however,is unfazed by disgruntled party workers. “If people have realised that voting for the hand symbol makes more sense,we should always welcome their change of minds,” Deepa tells her cadres.